Provision Treats First Proton Therapy Patients in Tennessee

Prostate Cancer Patients Among the First to Receive Advanced, Less
Invasive Treatment

Provision Center for Proton Therapy, located in Knoxville, Tennessee, treated its first patient today (January 20, 2014). It is the first and only proton therapy center in the state of Tennessee and one of 14 in the nation. (Photo: Business Wire)

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Provision Center for Proton Therapy, located in Knoxville, Tennessee, treated its first patient today (January 20, 2014). It is the first and only proton therapy center in the state of Tennessee and one of 14 in the nation. (Photo: Business Wire)

Two Knoxvillians and one patient from North Carolina underwent proton
therapy at the Dowell Springs campus at Tennessee’s first and only
proton therapy facility. Joe Hamby from Knoxville was one of the three
patients to undergo the non-invasive and precise treatment.

“I researched it and knew I wanted proton therapy,” said Hamby. “I
initially planned on going to another proton center 500 miles away until
I learned there was one right in my backyard. It’s a blessing to have
Provision Center for Proton Therapy right here in our community.”

Proton
therapy, the most advanced form of radiotherapy in the world, uses a
single beam of high-energy protons to treat various forms of cancer,
such as prostate,
pediatric,
sarcoma, brain,
lung,
and breast
cancers. Different from conventional radiation therapy — in which beam
energy dissipates as it passes through the body — proton beams can be
fine-tuned with millimeters of accuracy to deliver maximum energy within
the controlled range of the cancerous tumor.

Treatment plans will range from 20 - 40 treatments depending on the
stage of the cancer. Low to intermediate risk patients will receive 20
treatments over a four-week period. This schedule will result in fewer
side effects and will cost less than conventional radiation.

“The treatment of our first patients is such a significant milestone,”
said Mary
Lou DuBois, President of Provision Center for Proton Therapy. “We
are blessed and honored to see our vision come full-circle. This
wouldn’t have been possible without the passionate dedication and
teamwork from all the facility, administrative and clinical staff. Our
mission is to provide our community and this region with the most
compassionate and effective cancer treatment available today.”

Medical Director Marcio
Fagundes, M.D., performed each of the treatments. A board-certified
radiation oncologist, Dr. Fagundes has been involved with protons since
the early 1990s. He first became interested in proton therapy during his
internship and residency at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial
Hospital, where he had the opportunity to guest intern at Harvard
University. Upon completion of his residency, he went back to Harvard
Medical School for his fellowship, where he began treating patients with
proton therapy in 1993.

“I am extremely honored to be able to introduce patients to proton
therapy in Knoxville,” said Dr. Fagundes. “One of the most rewarding
aspects of being a proton therapy radiation oncologist is seeing
patients who have been able to resume normal, active lives as cancer
survivors. The opportunity to relocate to Knoxville and to provide
proton therapy to this area is a privilege.”

Former proton therapy patient Gordon Webster, who completed his
treatment two years ago at a proton therapy center 550 miles away, is
thrilled that proton therapy is available right here in Knoxville. “This
new facility will do wonders for thousands of men diagnosed with
prostate cancer each year, as well as many others stricken with cancers
that proton therapy can treat,” said Webster. “And please don't forget
we only have this very valuable facility due to the vision and
generosity of Provision Founder Terry
Douglass.”

Webster, a Kingston resident, is an official Ambassador
and “Proton
Guy,” a group of East Tennessee men who have all been treated with
proton therapy and now hold regular support groups and volunteer
regularly at Provision Center for Proton Therapy. “The emotional support
is a very important component for anyone undergoing cancer treatment,”
said Webster. “We just happen to be a group of individuals that took our
healthcare into our own hands and sought out the most advanced and least
invasive cancer treatment in the world. We are here to spread the word
about proton therapy and to guide and support all patients who choose
this life-saving and life-preserving treatment.”

The center is opening less than two years after breaking
ground in April 2012. A 220-ton
cyclotron, a particle accelerator that produces protons, was
installed a year ago in January 2013 at the center, which sits on the
120-acre comprehensive outpatient medical campus at Dowell
Springs in Knoxville. The pastoral
campus provides a resort setting with paved walking
trails, waterfalls, beautiful landscape that reflects the areas
natural beauty and benches to rest, visit, read, reflect or just observe
nature.

As the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park welcomes millions of visitors a year
to East Tennessee, it will also provide Provision patients a peaceful
retreat, only minutes away. East Tennessee offers four beautiful seasons
with a mild climate, a convenient location, attractive cost of living,
and southern hospitality with natural and cultural resources for
patients to enjoy during their non-clinical
time, while they create some very positive and memorable experiences
that will enhance their overall treatment experience.

Provision’s “Culture
of Care” will extend beyond service with a mission to respect the
dignity of the human person, preserve quality of life and includes a
dedicated Hospitality Team with full concierge service to engage the
community and serve patient needs. The Culture of Care program will be a
distinguishing feature of the Center, along with an innovative team that
will challenge the status quo for the betterment of patients through
care, research,
technology
and cancer treatment.

Board member and Olympic gold medalist Scott
Hamilton can be seen in a local television commercial promoting the
Provision Center for Proton Therapy. These spots will air during the
Winter Olympics in February and throughout the year.

About Provision Center for Proton Therapy

Provision
Center for Proton Therapy is the first cancer treatment center of
its kind in Tennessee and only the second in the Southeastern United
States. Open to all credentialed physicians and health systems in the
region, the Provision Center for Proton Therapy will have three
treatment rooms and will be able to treat up to 900 cancer patients
annually, and will bring in many patients from outside the area.
Treatments will typically require daily 30 - 45 minute sessions for two
months. The next closest location offering proton therapy is 350 miles
away. The center brings to Knoxville an advanced cancer treatment
capability that presently is available in only a handful of cities. It
is one of only 14 in the nation and 46 in the world.